Region lays out $800,000 welcome mat for JetBlue

In a recently released MassPort grant application, JetBlue and its pending passenger service from Worcester Regional Airport got some big wet kisses from Worcester's government and business leaders.

The application seeks to pair $350,000 in federal grant funds with $150,000 each from MassPort, the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, and the city of Worcester to pay for marketing and advertising for JetBlue's daily flights from Worcester Regional Airport to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.

MassPort has made no secret of the fact that in order to lure JetBlue to come to a dormant airport, it had to sweeten the pot. In addition to the aforementioned $800,000 in cash, MassPort will waive airport fees for landing, parking and terminal rent from JetBlue to the tune of $349,000. Altogether, the package of cash and in-kind contributions adds up to $1.1 million to promote JetBlue's Worcester routes.

The federal funding, supposed to be awarded this month, would last until 2015. JetBlue is scheduled to start flying out of Worcester on Nov. 7.

The hope is, according to the application, that the funding package will help JetBlue's two Florida routes become successful enough to encourage JetBlue to add routes to New York's JFK Airport, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Fort Myers, Fla.

"Linking the community to the broader air service network would strengthen the competitiveness of the Central Massachusetts region and contribute to economic development," said Thomas P. Glynn, MassPort CEO, in a letter accompanying the application. The official name of the grant is the Small Community Air Service Development Program, or SCASD, for short.

The hugs and kisses were perhaps to be expected from City Manager Michael V. O'Brien, Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty and the state's congressional delegation that includes U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey, and U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern.

"MassPort and the Worcester community were very pleased when JetBlue announced earlier this year it will begin year-round, daily nonstop services from Worcester Airport ... ," Ms. Warren, Mr. Markey and Mr. McGovern wrote.

That sentiment is pretty typical of the government types who submitted letters.

None of them talk about using the service, but rather about the economic benefits of a working airport in New England's second-largest city.

More encouraging were the words from some of the region's colleges and businesses that discussed how they might use the JetBlue service. In the end, that kind of talk is more encouraging to the service's long-term prospects.

At the Hanover Insurance Group, for example, President and CEO Frederick Eppinger said that while the JetBlue service does not meet all of the company's commercial business needs, or the personal needs of its employees, "it would be an enormous start, and undoubtedly would meet some of our immediate needs."

"We believe it will contribute to our ability to recruit and retain new employees, and to the growth of our company and the region," Mr. Eppinger wrote. "We would expect that many employees of The Hanover will use this service, either for direct or connecting flights, for business and personal purposes. We also believe that it is a critical step to bringing other services to the airport, which will serve more and more of our needs."

UMass Memorial Health Care and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, in their letter, wrote that for the 16,000 UMass employees who reside in Worcester County and 5,500 who live in the city, "JetBlue airline service will have a concentration of potential flyers for both professional/business travel in the form of researchers, physicians and clinicians, as well as access to a significant portion of leisure travelers."

The College of the Holy Cross noted that its students come to the college from around the country and the world.

"They also travel extensively for athletic events, service opportunities, and to return home or vacation at various locations throughout the world," wrote Edward Augustus, the college's director of government and community relations.

For what it's worth, I hope JetBlue succeeds. The city, the state, MassPort and perhaps the federal government have certainly laid out the red carpet, offering to pay for their marketing and waive airport fees.

The history of Worcester's airport is littered with failures. May JetBlue buck that trend.

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